Taiwhanga pūtaiao
by Negare
Summary: Mirrorverse. The 3rd story in the "Rangimarie" saga. Rangimarie further continues her violently painful education as to the heinous nature of Autobots and their Empire.
1. Chapter 1

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Taiwhanga pūtaiao

(Laboratory)

Chapter One

Day 200

Much of the planet now lay barren, devoid of life and scrubbed clean of any evidence of humanity having had habituated there. A once small rural town, which would have fitted into any state in America, was now just a blackened spot of earth inlaid within a charred valley. The smelly and well cooked carcasses of bovines lay strewn about what were once lush green plains. Other domesticated animals were also massacred in various ways while the occasional human body or bits of it also messed upon the ground. The highest point in the surrounds was a giant pile of human corpses, most of which were burnt beyond even DNA identification.

Once were…

So many parts of this planet could now be described as "once were", "once were green pastures", "once were bustling cities", "once were beautiful forests", "once were pristine lakes", "once were crystal oceans", "once were blest with human individuality and life"…

Astrotrain sat and inwardly mourned the true horror of what the Autobots had bought to this planet. Of course earth, like all worlds he'd seen, had their own domestic squabbles, wars and other skirmishes, but no matter their sins, they did not warrant a visit from the Autobot Empire.

Essentially all fires had burnt themselves out or had been extinguished by rain fall… of course, that rain fall was now polluted with the ashen remains of humanity and it's constructs. In some parts of the world, fires still burned, oil wells and other fuel storage facilities, if not completely raped by Autobot marauders did continue to smoulder. Occasionally a stray car or gas tank would explode given some incentive via an AUtobot's laser. Astrotrain hated what this world had suffered, what had been done to this beautifully inspiring world. The poet hadn't seen earth pre-Autobot invasion, but the images he'd discovered, paintings, DVD footage displayed a world of contrasts and seduction, the entire spectrum of colours stained every aspect of this world, from the multitude of colouring the humans carried in their genotypes to the deep blues of the oceans and the insanely uncountable shades of green that stretched across the globe in plant life.

At day 150 the Autobots intensified their attacks on earth, humans were ingenious beings and it hadn't taken them long for survivors to structure resistant cells. This had aggravated Prime beyond measure and while he cursed and tortured those stupid enough to cross him, the likes of Prowl organised the second wave, with the intent to crush the human spirit before it could do any more damage to their pillaging of earthen resources. So here was Astrotrain sitting on a cliff face looking out over a large section of America waiting to see when a large group of Autobot forces would pass by. According to Decepticon intelligence they would be using this area as a motorway to a new barracks they were constructing to house reinforcements that were heading here from Cybertron. Of course, the little humans that lived in this valley didn't feature in this plan and were slaughter. Prowl, in his chillingly merciless logic had concluded that humans must not be used as slave labour in areas where they were naturalised, as they would be an asset to local cells of resistance with their knowledge of the geography. So, humans would be moved about the planet, so those that slaved on the new barracks did know this region. In fact, some intelligence informed them that these humans were from parts of Eastern Europe.

Megatron had requested that Astrotrain sit and watch, (and on the side, write). The Decepticon leader hadn't wanted to bother Astrotrain or put him in harms way, but with Autobot attacks increasing in savagery he had no choice but to use Astrotrain as most other Decepticons were engaged in their usual style of guerrilla war fare. The triple changer had been watching this area for the past 42 days and in that time had only seen two convoys too large for the current Decepticon force to attack, and the occasional pair of Autobots driving through. He wondered inwardly if he had been detected, but given he still functioned he doubted that. Soundwave had tinkled away and come up with a cloaking device, but it had very limited use, and only lasted 3 earth minutes, so was used when the Autobot senses would be at their closest to his location. It also didn't help matters that the device was horribly wasteful to create, and so Megatron had only commissioned one, the very one Astrotrain had sitting on his shoulder. So far the only device was externally fixed, Megatron, caring too much for his troops wasn't willing to have it installed internally in anyone of them until it was evidenced as effective without disaster – so far the external one had proven safe.

According to the human calendar he'd sat here for over a month. Megatron had also selected Astrotrain knowing that he was always aching to get out of the cramped base and the quiet might go some way towards curing his insufferable writer's block. Given such a small amount of Autobot activity within the region he did pass thought as to whether Megatron had sent him here for his own good, and not to keep an optic on the Autobots. Of course there was a barracks near by, that much had been discovered by Laserbeak and Ravage on their scouting movements. But with all the time he'd had, he only ended up feeling worse, having nothing to look at but a constant reminder of Autobot cruelty and disdain for life didn't strike a match in his imagination. Having tired, and a tad frustrated with the environment he looked out over he retreated backwards into the cave behind him. At least the rocky walls and the occasional bug would be a relief from what lay outside…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Day 204

It was raining again. It was heavy, but only because of the weight of the dust that had risen up and mixed with the clouds. It reduced the blackened ground into a sludgy muck. It resulted in a stink that really was offensive to the audio-receptors. Astrotrain had remained in the cave for the past four days, but of course occasionally stepped out when he sensed Autobots or unidentified movement. The only Autobot that he saw pass by was Cliffjumper, a rather savage and brutish little mech who essentially worshiped Prime. Astrotrain wondered what he was up to as when he wasn't on the battlefield he was in some pub somewhere over-energising, partying in the rec room or hitting on some femme strumpet. The little bugger didn't seem to pick up on the Decepticon's signal. Soundwave had radioed Astrotrain on day 202 and told him that he could return to base if he wanted so as the barracks were of no real consequence to them as they had discovered a larger base which was much more interesting to their rebel cause. Astrotrain had not been ordered back so he decided to remain for a few more days. He'd found ancient human art works scribed into the rocks of the cave walls and he decided to study them, or at least stare at them with admiration… the crude images devoid of alphabet gave him some inspiration – if only inspiration to try and break the drought of his writer's block.

After committing the images to his memory banks he decided he best return to base, the stink of rotting human carcases mixed with the filthy rain were really starting to bother his olfactory senses. He stepped out of the cave and scanned the area, confident there were no Autobots close enough to detect him when he took off. He transformed and blasted off into the skies. It was ironic in a sad and morbid way, the ash and dust in the atmosphere and skies caused by the Autobot's rampant destruction of human cities was so thick that any Decepticon who flew above the clouds could not be detected by Autobot sensors. Of course, if an Autobot flew above the clouds they too weren't picked up on radar; however there were very few 'bots who had the ability of flight. The Autobots having done this on numerous worlds so the Decepticon scientists and engineers had developed filters which enabled flight through such clouds without damage to their engines and vital systems.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Day 219

Relieved to find she could move her arms, she raised her hands up to her face and using her fingers had to pry her eyes apart as the dried blood and crusts had sealed them shut. It was uncomfortable, but no where near the level of pain she'd had been put through over the past… well, God only knew how long she'd been in this hell hole. She was still alive, and still being experimented on, of course, they'd gotten in a new batch and they were more preoccupied with them – especially since there were a set of identical triplets, a little person and an albino. Of course, if she'd heard correctly from her new neighbour, the triplets were dead and dissected. Needing to cough, she sat up and hocked the large glob of dark covered phlegm out. No longer hooked up to tubes and machinery, wondering if that was a good thing or not, she stood and took a few stumbling steps towards the transparent front wall.

"Good to see you up".

She turned to see her neighbour.

"Heh, thanks".

She didn't know what else to say.

"You feeling okay?"

"I've definitely felt better".

She grumbled.

"They put you on that shit?"

She raised an eyebrow, confusion evident on her face.

"Shit?"

"Well, not literally. They've got some new drug, its some sort of hypnotic, hallucinogenic,… ah, basically it makes us easy to control, um… rum-fent-something… I overheard them talking about it a bunch of times".

He explained, she noticed he had a definite slur in his speech and when she stepped closer to him she could see the right side of his face was paralysed. Had he stroked?

"I've never heard of that, but I don't feel like I've been hypnotised or hallucinating or whatever".

"Yeah, I guess… apparently it kills you if you don't get any".

"Makes sense, I suppose, build up a workforce that's completely dependant on you for a narcotic that without will kill".

She dropped down slowly into a sitting position by the dividing wall between their cells.

"So… how about you? You okay?"

She asked.

"I'm fine… other then the fact they did this to me".

He motioned to his face with his left hand, his right side paralysed.

"Do you know what they did?"

"Yeah, I heard that big maroon one telling another guy that he'd injected a blood clot he'd harvested from the body of a big fat guy who stroked out in the cells. They dissected him and found it, and wanting to see if it could kill or damage, injected it straight into a blood vessel in my brain".

He slurred through his explanation.

"God. They really are monsters".

She said, a half whisper.

"If I could escape, I would, those fuckers have this place so well locked up no one can get in or out, but I'd rather die trying to escape then fucking live like this as one of their retarded guinea pigs".

"You get no objection from me".

"So… you got any ideas on how to get out of here?"

He suddenly asked.

"Who? Me?"

She raised her voice in reply, surprised.

"Yeah".

"Hell no, most of the time I've spent here I've either been out to it or in such a condition that the last thing on my mind is whether these arse faces have fung shei the place".

"Well, how bout we start paying attention, then. Even if we never put the info we might get to good use at least we've got something to keep our minds occupied".

"You guys are fucking insane if you think you can get out of here, and even if you get out of your cells, how are you going to get down off the shelf? Thought about that? What about how you get out of the door? And none of us have been in our right minds well enough to know what the fuck is on the other side… then what? You gonna ask for a map? Or maybe hack their logins so you can Google-earth their little base here? You people are fucking crazy!!!"

"Sssh! Quiet down Max, you idiot. If you don't want to escape then at least keep your mouth shut when others are talking about it. If you guys wanna try and get out of here, good luck, I'd come with you but… well… I just can't".

A woman's voice replied from the shelf above, possibly next to the man, given she knew his first name.

"Why can't you go?"

A young child from two cells away from Marie asked.

"They chopped off my legs and sewed my arms to the stumps".

There was a horribly uncomfortable silence when she made her statement.

"They're really repugnant, aren't they?"

Another voice from below asked.

"Well, okay, who wants to go with us if we manage to find a way out?"

Voices of agreement rung out from various shelves and cells.

"Well, whatever, you guys are all nuts. There's no way you can get out of here, not alive at least".

Max grumbled.

"So… what's the plan?"

Someone asked.

"Well, I guess as much recon as possible… maybe examine our cells see if we can find weakness, watch them as closely as we can, see if we can figure out their timetables".

Rangimarie replied, but not really sure if it was a good idea… suppose it was the best so far, she thought. And at least it would give them something to do, something to keep their minds occupied on something other then what they were suffering through.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four **

Day 223

There had been no real successes in their little attempts to escape or assess their location and their captors. Max was taken away and never bought back. The woman with her arms sewn to her leg stumps died in the cells two nights prior – possibly sepsis as there was a nasty smell in the room and Marie couldn't figure out where else it could have come from. The child cried a lot, and eventually was removed and not returned. Her neighbour was still there and still believed they could find a way out.

Rangimarie was sitting there rubbing her left knee, it ached without mercy for quite some time and eventually she decided that moving about might help loosen it up, or at least give her mind something else to think about. Walking around the small cell didn't help her knee much but she did notice something else she hadn't before. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe pain, or maybe she was looking so hard for it before she hadn't noticed it. Because there at the back of cell, in the centre of the transparent wall was a small gap, it must have been where the tubes had snaked through. She walked closer to it, up close it was completely invisible and at most other angles in the room she discovered it didn't expose itself, but at the place she stood now she could see the hole. She reached out and placed her hand against it, she could feel the edge, it was blunt, but it wasn't that big. She was able to push her arm through and touch the wall behind them but the hole was only big enough to accommodate up to the middle of her upper arm. She wondered how strong the cell walls were. She put both her hands through and gripped each side and pulled backwards, it made a simple creaking sound and bent slightly, appearing to be constructed of some form of plastic, but it didn't give way to her waning strength.

"Hey…"

She whispered to her neighbour.

He looked up from where he was sitting, playing with his toe nails – one was horribly ingrown. When he saw that her fingers were protruding through the back of the cell he was up and over to the corner of his cell.

"Holy shit".

He whispered.

"It won't give though. Its like some kind of plastic".

She said.

He felt about on the back of his cell until he successfully found the gap.

"I see what you mean about it not giving way".

He replied softly, inwardly a tad depressed and certainly wishing he hadn't discovered the hole as now it would just sit there and mock him.

After a good twenty minutes of them both having a go at their respective holes they both accepted that the hole wasn't going to do them any good, especially while they had no weapon or tool of any description.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Day 230

"I just realised something".

Her neighbour stated suddenly, interrupting the few days of silence they'd been subjected too.

"What's that?"

She asked.

"I didn't ask your name… or if I did I forgotten".

He laughed weakly.

"Hehe, hey yeah… I can't remember either… must be that CRAFT".

"CRAFT?"

"Can't Remember A Fucking Thing".

She explained, with a feeble chuckle.

"So, what is your name?"

He asked again.

"Rangimarie… or just Marie if you can't get your American tongue around it".

Before he could answer the door opened and Perceptor walked in. Saying nothing he approached the cells, he reached up and threw a switch on the wall next to the top shelf. There was an electrical surge, followed by a few screams then the all to familiar smell of burning human flesh. Perceptor activated a few more switches and the remaining cells were purged with the same electricity. She felt the pulse rip up her legs, she cried out and dropped to the floor, pain tearing through her tiny human form. She was aware of a few more screams and then silence, which was then interrupted by the footsteps of Perceptor leaving the room.

Marie wasn't sure why she wasn't killed by the electricity. Her neighbour, who's name she never heard, was dead, his skeleton covered with blackened flesh, smouldering, and the smell filling her nasal cavity. The doors of the cells had all opened and she had her escape. As she stepped out of the door she turned and looked at the back wall, where she had pulled for a few moments was several large cracks, perhaps she'd done more damage then she'd assumed. But her neighbour had put just as much effort into the hole as she had, perhaps her cell was of shoddy construction. Regardless, they were all dead and she had a possible escape route, no point looking a gift horse in the mouth.

She climbed down to the shelf below, the cells there also filled with charred human remains. Obviously the experiment was over and they were of no use to those beasts anymore. She didn't envy the poor schmuck who was going to have to clean up this mess. In a way she was glad they were going to make some bastard's day unpleasant. She was able to walk along the lower shelf until she found herself directly over the desk; it was only two metres below. Dangling from her fingers she let go and fell to the desk below. She landed hard, but not hard enough to do any damage. Of course she still ached all over from the numerous experiments. She walked across the desk, mostly ignoring the computer consoles and stacks of digi-pads. She did stop to give some attention to the skeletal remains of some poor human. There were bones of a few other creatures, aliens from other conquered worlds most likely. She jumped down to the stool and then holding on for her life slid down the leg.

The lab was quite massive from her vantage point on the ground. She wasn't sure which way to go to get the hell out. She certainly didn't want to go the way Perceptor had exited. There was another exit, but that could just lead into a closet or another lab. A chill passed through her blood as she realised just how much of a mess she was in. She didn't have time to contemplate her circumstances or waste too much time on where she was going to go. She was just going to hope and pray she made the right choice. Her questioning was answered when she noticed a vent next to the door at floor level, wherever it went, it was probably safer then walking out the door – if she could even get it open. She squeezed her way through just as she heard the door open and clanging indicated one of those bastards had entered. She heard him talking to himself in a language she didn't understand, but given his tone they were probably profanities. Deciding not to wait around and analyse his semantics in case he noticed he was minus one charred Caracas she turned left and headed down the vent.

She could see a light near the end of the tunnel, as it were. It could either be an exit or some Autobot's office. She'd find out very soon, she realised as she got closer to the source. There was a rather unpleasant aroma that wafted down the vent, she hoped it wasn't her, and she hoped that what ever it was would mask her smell… however long she'd been trapped in that mad mans… bot's lab she certainly hadn't had access to showers, she knew she was less then savoury at this point. Thank goodness Rita the infection control nurse wasn't around to… before she could finish that train of thought she realised Rita was probably dead, or in one of those damn camps, or worse… Chances are that everyone she'd ever worked with in that hospital were dead now too. She quickly re-adjusted her concentration as the last thing she wanted right now was to think of those she'd lost, friends, Whanau… pretty much everyone and everything. Thankfully she'd now reached the light source.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

She had no problem squeezing in through the bars that formed a vent over the shaft of light. A series of rungs reached in both upwards and downwards directions, they were positioned at various distances between each jut, obviously designed to allow different sized robots to use it. Thankfully there were rungs that would oblige her small human frame. The next biggest decision that she'd have to make now was which direction to climb; having no idea of the layout of the facility there was no way to know whether to go up or down. In the end she figured it'd better to go down, and then maybe she could find a basement sewer pipe or something. As she climbed down a thought passed through her head, what if she was on a ship? Floating up in space somewhere and then there really was no escape, unless she could steal a shuttle and suddenly understand giant robot-eese and fly to freedom back on her fractured world.

At the bottom of the shaft she was able to gauge the distance to the top better while she stood still to look up. It looked to be at least 10 floors high before her human eyes were no longer able to register the length in the dimming light. She climbed through the bottom bars and found herself in a dank corridor. It was sparsely lit along the floor line, the occasional one flickered feebly. Staying close to the wall she navigated along the snaking corridors watching for more vents or anything that looked like it might provide an escape. Having no concept or judgement of time proved irritating to her as she reached another junction. She turned left and walked along at a brisk pace. Suddenly something grabbed her attention. She stood still and strained her hearing, what sounded like footsteps, metallic footsteps rustled somewhere from behind, but there wasn't as much weight to them – perhaps a smaller robot? It was definitely too much of a metallic sound for it to be a human escapee or wild animal that may have found its way in. The next sound that rang out chilled her blood, it at first was a snort like laugh, which suddenly began to erupt into a lengthy and insane cackling. Turning she was able to see the owner of such a petrifying sound process.

"Hello little human! Oh how happy will the Lt. Commander Arcee be when she sees how fastidious I have been in my duty!"

The small Autobot stepped out into a larger beam of light. Rangimarie froze momentarily with horror when she saw his twisted face, a grin etched deeply into his metallic features, scorch marks about the left cheek whereas the right one had what looked like a screw head sticking out.

"She will then see I'm am a cheerful mech! Cheerfully carrying out my duty! My duty of patrolling the basement levels of the ark! Then she will let me return to the City, oh yes, little human, I will be well rewarded for my delightful demeanour".

He threw his mangled head back, gripped at his sides and laughed that unnatural laugh.

Marie watched, taken aback by his obvious mental defects, she couldn't help but focus on him for just a moment longer. His laugh continued it changed in pitch and speed; he bent forward so he wasn't looking at her and laughed and laughed and laughed. Marie decided to take this as a hint that she should be running, escaping, something, anything to get the hell away from this lunatic. Doing so didn't interrupt his manic episode. Upon reaching another junction in the passage ways she realised she was completely lost and had no idea which way she'd come from and which way she needed to head. She took a right and sprinted towards another light source.

"You can't run away from me, little human, I'm a good Autobot, I'm competent and cheerful and oh so obliging to my superiors! I won't let you ruin my impressing of my superior, my superior Lt. Commander Arcee, she's my superior, don't you know little human".

His voice was tainted by the twisted structure of his faceplates. His cackle continued to echo through the bowels of the Ark as he began his methodical limp after her.

"I'm coming for you little human, you won't stop me pleasing the Lt. Commander".

He bellowed.

She found herself at another junction, on the left wall she found what looked like a garbage shoot. He reached her quicker then she had imagined. She was already up and through the metal flap when his cold fingers wrapped around her ankle, squeezing tightly around.

"I've got you little human, soon I will have pleased the Lt. Commander, she will let me return to the light! I will be free of the dark! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA".

His laugh continued. She twisted her form, pushing her hands against the edges of the shaft and then reached out with her free foot and slammed it into his face. Her heel struck the nail poking from his face, she felt it move only slightly and his laugh changed into a pained scream. He promptly let go and she slid head first down the almost vertical shaft. He slammed his fist into the wall, tearing into it, but she was already down too deep for him to reach her.

"COME BACK HERE LITTLE HUMAN I WON'T LET YOU RUIN MY CHANCES TO MAKE EVERYONE CHEERFUL AND FULL OF GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!"

Eventually his giggles tapered out as she slid further away from the source of the insanity.

She hit the bottom of the shaft hard, it tilted slightly and she found herself suddenly tumbling along towards a destination which she had no control over. The destination suddenly arrived and she found herself outside in a puddle of muck, the origins of which she decided not to contemplate upon. The only thing she could give real thought to was escape, if that maniac raised the alarm that a human had escaped the lab, well, she didn't' want to think what would be chasing her across the vast American country side.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

She found a reserve of strength that a few hours ago she wouldn't have contemplated existed. She waded through the slimy mess she found herself in until she was at the muddy shore. Upon clambering up out of that, she turned and discovered it full of human corpses, or parts of them. Bones protruded out from the dirty banks and skulls floated on the almost pitch liquid. Limbs with half rotting hands reached free of the reeking substance, and the occasional eye ball bobbed up and down.

Now free of the pool of rotting bodies she stood and looked upwards at what horror she had escaped. A huge pipe exited from the vast mountain side where more of the sludge oozed from. Stepping back, continuing to look upwards she stood in awe at the giant space ship, the back half of which penetrating outwards from the volcano. So they were alien, she thought as she tripped backwards over a rock, her supine position enabling her to see more of the once flight capable structure. Deciding that hanging around and sight seeing wasn't the best idea she could have, she decided to leave.

A natural formation of rocks and smaller hills stretched along south eastern path, she followed that since she couldn't really decide which other way to go. The hills appeared to have once been covered with trees, but they had been burned and the remains ploughed away, large piles of charred wood lay about the place every so many kilometres along. The sky gave no real indication to the time that had passed or the time it was now. The soot and ash remained in the atmosphere, this blocked any view the sun or moon would have of the savaged world below. There was a dim red light up ahead on the horizon she tramped towards. Possibly it was close to dusk, but she really had no idea or ability to decipher this. Pain ripped through her body and she slumped to her knees, taken by a coughing fit, she vomited a good portion of what looked like old blood or bile and some really light pink fluid, not wanting to linger on what that could be, she forced herself up and marched on.

After what felt like 20 minutes she came upon the distorted and blackened remains of a group of tanks and other human army equipment. What was probably a troop truck lay on its side, the wooden planks about the trailer were nothing but cinders, the steel poles were twisted and brittle, the cab looked like one of those things had punched a fist through it. The bodies of those unfortunate enough to have been ordered to attack their base had not fared much better. Their bodies, unable to ever be identified, lay about in pieces and piles. Perhaps one day, when the humans had reclaimed their devastated world, these places would be sites of memoriam, where people claiming these brave, or perhaps foolish soldiers as ancestors would visit, would pray, would remember how their lives were now free because of the sacrifices made here. Of course, the other outcome was that humanity would be completely eradicated and no one, ever, would step foot on this land again with intent to give reverence.

A further way up the valley were the remains of a F117, the pilots' sticky skeletal remains remained seated and strapped into the cock-pit, their deaths transpiring before they could eject. Her enthusiasm to escape the area was intensified when she noticed a large, un-detonated bomb with the tell tale propeller symbol indicating a nuclear device of unknown yield. It lay about three metres from the bomber, a large dent in its nose. Continuing along past further decimated military apparatus served to strengthen the morbid sense of depression that was filling her soul. These robots, these aliens, these transformers, they certainly didn't have any problem laying waste to the most powerful weapons humans had crafted to defend themselves. Attempting to scramble up over a mud covered hill proved too difficult upright, so she dropped to her hands and knees and scurried in a crawl up over the top. Once she reached the top she wished she'd never come this way, perhaps even wishing she'd been caught by the crazy mechanical man in the darkened passageways below their ancient ship. The sight so shocking she found herself standing to try and view it in its entirety, if only to fully grasp their sadism. For miles human heads had been impaled upon femurs. Some still had large chunks of flesh, if family members happened by they could possibly identify some of the heads. Some legs still had genitalia attached and these creatures definitely made no distinction between the genders when it came to their practice of slaughter. Completely indiscriminate.

To her people, such a practice was barbaric beyond any level of comprehension, it disrespected everything sacred about life, sacred about humanity, it offended both past, present and future practices. Even the ancient deities who were no longer called upon would turn their immortal eyes away in horror and shame. That's what these creatures were, shameful, they had no mana1. The rest of the body parts were strewn about without regard for any form of morbid artwork. Of course, she held no spare time to contemplate further on the true sadness this place leaked outwards.

Mana – respect, prestige, status afforded to people


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

She walked along a huge crevice in the soiled land. Along the bottom of it flowed a small stream of sludgy water. Unable from her vantage point to truly discern what made it so murky and whether this crevice had been there before the creatures had spilled their evil plans outwards from their shuttle. The crevice snaked down the hills in front of the Autobot base but started to taper out as it neared a once forested area which only extended another 5km which finished at a cliff face. It'd taken Marie about an hour and a half to reach this point, no longer able to see the massive structure she'd escaped or the horrors that lay about it, a poignant and gloomy reminder of humanity's complete lack of ability to fight these beasts. Beginning what was most likely going to be a strenuous climb down the cliff face to a valley below did concern her, her limbs started to ache at the same time she became aware she was hungry, unable to even estimate when she was given some form of sustenance. Why would such creatures bother with the nutritional needs of humans when they planned on destroying them eventually? It was a little rude, though. She tried not to imagine the state of her lungs as she gave a weak splutter to try and dislodge the large blob of phlegm from her throat which was irritated by the heavy levels of soot and ash in the air she breathed. She felt something wet dribble down her side and noticed it was a small amount of blood oozing from where one of the tubes had passed into her body. God only knew what their purpose had been. Again, she tried not to think about such things. It took her about 34 unsteady and nervous minutes to reach the bottom of the cliff.

There was a huge hole at the bottom of the cliff just to her left, obviously the remains of a lake or river's beginning, judging by the erosion on the rock face perhaps a water fall had flowed down and formed a river. She didn't' need two guesses as to how this place had met its smouldering end. Marie began a walk along the dead river bed, thoroughly exhausted, but what else was she meant too do? She couldn't very well turn back, and without any knowledge of the geography of this country she really wasn't in any position to break out a map and track her path and destination, of course, she didn't have a map. Her thoughts were so scrambled that she didn't notice the sound of a vehicle increasing as it approached.

The young woman stumbled upon a few loose rocks as she decided to cross the dry river bed, dead fish and clumps of various water dwelling plant life was strewn about. Marie then found herself picked up and hurling through the air, she slammed into the far bank before her violently ceased memento caused her to roll back down into the muddy cranny. Groaning, she reached up with dirty hands and gripped her head. A shadow passed between her and the almost pitch sky.

"Lost?"

His voice was condescending.

Her hands came back down to her sides and her eyes strained to focus on the being. It was most obviously one of those damn machines.

"Perceptor's lab is most certainly the last place you would want to find yourself, but to those who obey him he is more then obliging. You, you miserable bag of flesh, will find your end in his abode".

The creature bent down to pick her up, he was a mostly forest green in colour with sparse amounts of a dusky tan. The feature of his that concerned her the most was the shoulder mounted cannon, something that would end her life probably faster then she could blink, however, given the fate she would meet if she was returned to Perceptor's custody an instant death would be much more welcome.

"Of course, giving you over to him doesn't mean I can't have a bit of fun myself first… in the interests of intelligence".

He bent down and picked her up, holding the woman in front of his face as he gave her a quick squeeze.

"Since we're going to be spending a bit of time together I think I should introduce myself, it'd be only proper. I'm Hound. No one who has heard my name has forgotten it".

He followed up with a blood chilling laugh. Marie struggled to get free; he continued to laugh as she squirmed. There was a moment where his grip wasn't as tight and she found herself able to wriggle out from her shabby gown, the drop to the ground below wasn't something she'd wish to repeat, but with no time to contemplate on her ouchies she was up and running, or rather limping. The Autobot gave a single chuckle and watched her, intending that she would exhaust herself fleeing from something inescapable.

Hound very rarely made an error in judgement; the stakes were just too high. To make a mistake in the Autobot army did not bode well, especially if someone found out. So when Hound realised the human had leapt from the cliff face, where another water fall had once dropped, he felt a rage known to many Autobots. He marched towards the edge and peered over just as he saw her dive head first, limbs failing, into a large pool of sludge below. His lip components formed a smirk as his knowledge of human anatomy told him in all likelihood she was now deceased, the flesh creature probably smacking her cranial chamber into the rocks hidden by the muck. Hound folded down into his jeep mode and rode up the edge of the river bank and along the path towards the bottom. It was most probably prudent to ensure she was one deceased bag of organic material.

From her perspective Marie was hoping the jump would kill her as her chance of outrunning him was slim. The geography was deceptive as it rolled up and down forming crevices and lake beds; the cliff top which dropped the river wasn't visible until she was nearly on top of it. She had only seconds to consider her options but as she found herself falling and without too much regret. The muddy sludge she landed in was probably more human remains and bodily fluids, amazingly the muck gave her a good deal of cushioning. Once she had figured out how to wade free a momentarily thought erupted in her mind that perhaps she could escape this creature. Turning her gaze upwards she could see a slight variation in the lighting from the dust it kicked up as it rolled along.

She clambered up the sides of the bank and off she ran towards another series of hills and cliff faces, hoping to find a cave or some other hiding place. She was about three metres from an entrance to a cave she thought could benefit her when a huge fiery blast ripped up the blackened ground to her left. The force of the blast caused her to looser her balance momentarily, she didn't fall, but she did stagger into the remains of a charred tree. She took a glance over her shoulder and saw Hound unfolding into his robot form, he started running, another blast from his shoulder cannon ripped into the tree next to her, splintering the blackened wood.

"Fuck!"

She screeched as she ducked, covering her head as larger clunks flew her way.

The Autobot laughed, and continued to fire. He literally dived at her, hitting the dirt two and a half metres from her and then started sliding through the gritty soil. Hound followed through with a vicious swat to Marie's legs, loosing her balance and falling into the sludgy ground.

"You won't die here".

The Autobot calmly stated as clutched her in front of his face; he stood slowly, thoughtfully and then chuckled cruelly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Astrotrain's guidance system registered that he was flying close to the Ark. Above the soot ridden clouds he knew he had some level of protection from Autobot sensors, however, Silverbolt and his team of addicts were known to risk engine damage flying through the mess they'd created. While Silverbolt's reasoning for this action revolved around his superiority and importance in domination of the skies above their base, the rest of his team often did this more for stupid dares, puerile games and lost bets. The triple changer cut his engines down to their lowest possible throttle. Astrotrain shut off his radio as well, the last thing he needed was a well meaning Decepticon contacting while he was in Autobot air space and that damn opportunist Blaster picking it up.

Internally a blip appeared on Astrotrain's radar. The blip was an Autobot. The filth in the cumulus, while not damaging to his engines or systems, did lessen the capacity of his sensors to get an identity of the Autobot. Even though it was just one and earth bound, it was still a danger. No Autobot was to ever be underestimated. Something else appeared on his readouts, a human life form… It was no secret that humans were kept at the Ark for research. It was hard not to pity those poor creatures, and it angered a great deal of his Decepticon colleagues. Humans were amazing individuals and as a species they could create the most beautiful structures, arts and television shows! While they had their own despots, their own wars and their own horrors, they surely were not deserving of a visit from the Autobot Empire. The value one human life held was beyond pricing. Astrotrain felt a surge of anger, cut his engines and descended through the mucky skies. He landed metres in front of Hound, transforming.

"A Decepticon so close to the Ark? Are the Constructicons that incompetent in their workmanship that they cannot even programme your scanner?"

"Give me the human, Hound".

Astrotrain well knew that Hound would not give the human up so easily, and could be problematic as the Autobot could easily contact reinforcements. He was particularly chummy with Prowl and Perceptor, and while Perceptor wouldn't bother to leave his lab with intent to engage one Decepticon, he would be happy to have the writer join his menagerie. Prowl would respond with intent to further ensure the integrity of their immediate perimeter.

Astrotrain glared at the Autobot with the chillingly cold fuel pump, knowing that these beasts only respected strength and spite. Hound stood still, holding the fleshling in his fist, not flinching and not prepared to back down. Astrotrain bought his rifle from subspace, an obvious sign to his opponent he meant business. Even though Hound was a savagely vicious Autobot, he was physically no match for the much larger and heavier triple changer, but Astro knew there was no way the feral would back down, so he was going to have to provide an opportunity. Astro fired at Hound's feet. The ground while charred to the point that it was unnaturally firm sprayed upwards, the Autobot, somewhat surprised by the 'con's audacity fell backwards, dropping Marie. Thankfully for Marie, the way in which her captor collapsed didn't result in an increase in force or any significant change in his grip. She was free, again. The other robot came at her, scooped her up, transformed – throwing the girl in the air – she fell through an open window on the cockpit and he was off. The profanities and various curses from the Autobot below continued to reach her ears until they had passed through the heavy cloud cover.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten**

"You're familiar to me, miss, have we met?"

He asked. While Astro would often speak in similar language to how he would scribe his books, he found humans had difficulty in deciphering him.

"Yeah… nah… I dunno… I think we have met, actually…"

Marie wasn't entirely sure herself. As humans barely reached the kneecaps of most of these things they weren't exactly in a position to get a good look at their faces. However, she did have that "I know you from somewhere, but where?" feeling.

"So, what happens now? You dump me out from ten thousand metres?"

"Of course not! I would never do something so heartless! I'm a Decepticon".

"OH… yeah, that's right, you guys have factions. Autobots – bad, Decepticons – good".

"Yes, _thank you_".

He sounded slightly exasperated.

"Are they chasing us?"

"Not yet, but the Autobots don't have a wide selection of aerial capable warriors. The Aerialbots, however, could give us trouble, but the likes of Cosmos and Powerglide are nothing to get chicken bumps about. We could have issues if Skyfire makes it through the clouds, though".

"Chicken bumps?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you humans call those phenomena when your skin goes bumpy?"

She paused, thinking…

"Oh, you mean goose bumps?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess that's what I mean. I'm not around humans enough to pick up your jargon and colloquiums".

"So, where do get our slang and such from?"

"We have access to DVDs of When The Kitchen Sinks and other shows".

"Never heard of that show".

She confessed.

"Really? We can't get enough of it. I'm hoping that when the war ends you humans start making it again".

"Yeah, cos I'm sure that'll be at the top of our list of things too do after the establishment of civilisation".

She said with a light hearted sarcasm, Astro seemed to pick up on it.

"Look, I don't mean to be a nuisance or anything, but I don't feel safe dropping you off at any human base. If the bots are following me the last thing I want on my conscience is the murder of innocent humans just trying to survive this mess".

"Sure, that's okay, but to be honest, I can't remember the last time I was with the humans you guys left me with last time. I have no idea how long I was stuck in that hell".

She explained, inwardly confused as to how she should feel about being whisked about by a robot.

"I can only imagine the horrors you must have been subjected too".

There was a long pause of silence, it wasn't somewhat uncomfortable but it had a hint of sadness too it. Chances are, given Astrotrain's age; he probably had more then just imagination in regards to what Perceptor could craft.

Marie enjoyed the quiet that existed at that moment, the only real sound was Astro's engines, but they were just a slight humming. For so long the noise that surrounded her were screams, prayers, tears, evil laughter and loud clanking racket from somewhere in the Ark. Now to just have so little onslaught to her hearing was a welcome relief. The pain then made itself known. It was unpleasant, and wondered what it meant – how serious was it? Was there massive internal injury? Was she going into withdrawal to something? She'd been told by multiple victims that the Autobot scientists had created a drug to control humans. She wasn't sure if she had been given the narcotic, but she wouldn't be surprised if those plonkers had slipped it into one of those damn IV lines. A wave of nausea swept over her, she was somewhat aware of the Decepticon saying something to her, but instead she had lost consciousness.


End file.
